Lebron, Shaq first debut in Akron, Delonte West held out of scrimmage
Sat, Oct 3, 2009 By Tariq Ali
The Cleveland Cavaliers held out their annual scrimmage at the University of Akron’s Rhodes Arena in from of 5,000 fans who lined up hours before the game to witness the debut of Lebron and Shaquille.
Shaquille O’Neal received a standing ovation from the fans as he stepped on the court.
O’Neal was 6 of 7 from the field, dropping at least four short jumpers and one layup.
General manager Danny Ferry decided to have West remain on his own during the team’s Wine and Gold scrimmage.
Ferry said he didn’t want to rush West back after missing the first four practices.
“I think that was probably the right step for him today,” Ferry said. “The next step is the next practice. Overall, I think he is going in a good direction.”
Ferry was asked why West did not report.
“I don’t know that it was the right time for him to come,” said Ferry
However, Ferry made it clear that West must be responsible and understand his obligations to the team:
“There has to be a level of accountability as we’re trying to build a championship culture and continue to grow as an organization,” Ferry said. “There’s going to be ups and downs for that for sure, but at the end our purpose will remain the same.”
This is going to be interesting to watch. If Lebron and Shaq can stay healthy, the Cavs will be hard to stop.